New DNP mandate

chare · May 19, 2018

I agree with babyNP, and have always thought this would be the way it would happen, if it ever did. However, I'm not sure that this recommendation will have any more affect than the one by the AACN. This still has to be apprived by the board of regents at every university offering an NP program, and I'm not sure that will ever happen.

One of the two major universities in my area attempted to do away with their MSN option a few years back. After one year of greatly reduced enrollment, the MSN returned the next year.

babyNP., APRN · May 19, 2018

I thought CRNAs already adopted it?

As I recall, the CRNA's DNP is *actually* going to happen in 2025 because the organization that accredits the school's programs is requiring it. Any CRNAs with different info feel free to chime in.

guest769224 · May 19, 2018

The deadline for MSN CRNA program cutoff is Jan 2022. Every anesthesia program will have a DNP or DNAP (for new admissions) thereafter.

JellyDonut · May 19, 2018

I wonder if they even care about the current state of NP education. It sure doesn't seem like it and there is the ever present cash cow of keeping students enrolled. Even the well respected brick and mortar universities have jumped on that band wagon. It is a sad state of affairs.

You took the words out of my mouth..now stop that.

I think many of us wish there were measures in place to address the overall quality of these for profit NP mills who are pumping out poor performing graduates. The DNP is nice but is the goal to have the designation or to promote excellent providers?

Even with the DNP mandate I imagine there will still be bridge programs that remain at the masters level.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · May 19, 2018

NONPF is an organization that represents faculty members of NP programs across the US. They certainly can make recommendations but are unable to force the certification boards to adopt a change in certification requirements for NP practice nor mandate state boards of nursing to act according to their whim.

Universities come in various forms and some have to comply with internal review and budget approval in terms of adding a new degree which is why many public universities in California are just now starting a DNP program that are not even poised to admit students directly after a BSN (all are post Master's at this point).

AACN's previous recommendation obviously did not materialize but in in my eyes, that organization would have more of a clout because they are an accreditation entity and could enforce a rule that all MSN degrees leading to NP tracks would cease to be reaccredited by 2025 but even that is unlikely to be a route they would take.

Guest05/31/18 · May 22, 2018

I fail to see how taking more fluff courses such as Foundations and Essentials of Doctoral Study in Nursing; Theoretical and Scientific Foundations for Nursing; Methods for Evidence-Based Practice; Transforming Nursing and Healthcare Through Technology; Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Improvement; Best Practices In Nursing Specialties; Epidemiology and Population Health; Evidence-Based Practice I: Assessment and Design; Healthcare Policy and Advocacy; Evidence-Based Practice II: Planning and Implementation; Evidence-Based Practice III: Implementation, Evaluation, and Dissemination; DNP Project Mentoring; DNP Field Experience; DNP Project Completion; Doctoral Writing Assessment will bring any further respect to our profession. If NPs want to respected in the medical field, them maybe the curriculum should be more medical field focused.

djmatte, ADN, MSN, RN, NP · May 22, 2018

I fail to see how taking more fluff courses such as Foundations and Essentials of Doctoral Study in Nursing; Theoretical and Scientific Foundations for Nursing; Methods for Evidence-Based Practice; Transforming Nursing and Healthcare Through Technology; Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Improvement; Best Practices In Nursing Specialties; Epidemiology and Population Health; Evidence-Based Practice I: Assessment and Design; Healthcare Policy and Advocacy; Evidence-Based Practice II: Planning and Implementation; Evidence-Based Practice III: Implementation, Evaluation, and Dissemination; DNP Project Mentoring; DNP Field Experience; DNP Project Completion; Doctoral Writing Assessment will bring any further respect to our profession. If NPs want to respected in the medical field, them maybe the curriculum should be more medical field focused.

I think there's value in evidence based courses and even in theory utilization. But the problem is they are approaching it backwards. Those are baccalaureate or maybe early masters level topics.... Not doctorate level. I still maintain where advance practice nursing education fails is in its fractures. Nurse practitioners should have a broad education that sets the np up to go with whatever path they later choose to focus. Either do a base masters as a nurse practitioner and focus the doctorate as a specialty, or do a dnp fnp with the expectation to do a 1 year residency in specific specialty (kind of similar to a medical model). General NPs will still have the capacity to work wherever(much like PAs), but the added residency will be more appealing to specific areas.

In an era where direct entry is becoming the norm, they can no longer claim that it's the nursing experience that they are capitalizing on to bridge educational/patient interaction gaps. They needed a more robust education system/plan.

offlabel · May 22, 2018

I thought CRNAs already adopted it?

We did. But I think there is a difference in the motivation for prospective applicants and what they will tolerate in terms of more time and money. As heterogeneous as CRNA training is when compared to anesthesia residency, it is far more homogeneous than NP training. That is, what you get in training and ultimately, employment is easily defined and identifiable. There are a finite ways and settings for anesthesia, by and large. And the salary structures are very transparent if not public knowledge.

The only danger is that by adding time and money, folks interested in anesthesia might just go into medicine or some other high paying field instead. Right now, folks otherwise inclined and able to go the medical school route are doing the math and becoming RNs with the intent on going into anesthesia. That could change if the hassle becomes a wash.

djmatte, ADN, MSN, RN, NP · May 22, 2018

I think there's value in evidence based courses and even in theory utilization. But the problem is they are approaching it backwards. Those are baccalaureate or maybe early masters level topics.... Not doctorate level. I still maintain where advance practice nursing education fails is in its fractures. Nurse practitioners should have a broad education that sets the np up to go with whatever path they later choose to focus. Either do a base masters as a nurse practitioner and focus the doctorate as a specialty, or do a dnp NP with the expectation to do a 1 year residency in specific specialty (kind of similar to a medical model). General NPs will still have the capacity to work wherever(much like PAs), but the added residency will be more appealing to specific areas.
In an era where direct entry is becoming the norm, they can no longer claim that it's the nursing experience that they are capitalizing on to bridge educational/patient interaction gaps. They needed a more robust education system/plan.

Fixed that type o in bold.

aok7, NP · May 24, 2018

As most of us are NP students or NPs, we get to watch this and see where it goes, with the likelihood of being grandfathered in. How fortunate we are.

I wish NP programs required a higher standard. I don't know if DNP programs will make a difference, as it's just extending another year or so to an established culture. My first year, I studied so hard, worked to make my papers perfect, and so on. I soon realized I only needed to put in about 55% of my effort to get the same grade. I continued to study very hard my second year, but it was my own, and a lot of prep for actual clinical interactions and review of patho/pharm, etc., and got through the second year of class work with it being more of a nuisance to me.

Editorial Team / Admin · May 24, 2018

Numerous posts removed.

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Oldmahubbard · May 24, 2018

With the low salaries many people are already getting, it will be interesting to see how requiring a DNP (with no increase in clinical duty or competency) will play out.